i am attempting to trace a branch of my husband's family further back than
tabitha cato. can you help? from all these emails i have seen over the last
year or so i have tentatively penciled it in as follows. does anyone else know
anything about this branch and cos and states they came from?
tabitha cato(1810 - 1869) m. thomas jefferson mcgee (killed by union soliders in
front of womenfolk 1800-1864 along with several of his sons - mr. mckee wrote a
book several years ago about this civil war event). one of their sons was blair
mcgee.
i think tabitha's father was louis cato (1786-1839) and his father henry cato
(1742-)????
HBrackinjr(a)aol.com wrote:
Bonnie,
I have read your note on the William Cato's with much anticipation. I
appreciate it very much. However I have some questions about some of it which
may be in some cases due to a lack of information or understanding. In this
letter I must be the Devil's advocate. Bonnie these are the same ideas I
wrote to you yesterday and this letter was written before you sent me tonight
your letter of comment on my letter. I have not studied these comments yet
and do not know if you have changed my opinion as yet or not. I shall put to
the whole group my ideas as they are presently
You say that the William Cato who was a soldier in the Rev. was a brother of
Sterling (and therefore a son of John and Jane) because Sterling came to the
same area. It is true Sterling came to the same area at least 3 or 4 years
later but the information I have is that this William was born in Halifax Co.
or Dist., NC. (Huxford Gen. Magazine, Vol. XXIII, number 3). If this is so,
then he would not be a son of John who we have no record of owning land or
ever living in NC. The younger William Cato who sold ½ of the land of the
older William Cato of Northampton Co., NC in 1778, in time to fight at the
siege of Augusta in 1779, seems like a good, in fact better possibility for
this William Cato, a Rev. War soldier of Georgia. Northampton Co. was a part
of the Halifax Dist of NC. There are many incidences where the District was
used in locating a place instead of using the County, both in NC and SC. In
the 1790 census of North Carolina the State is divided into Districts with
the Counties as subdivisions of the Districts. The same is true in SC.
With this and my previous letter in which I have discussed the George Cato in
Camden Dist., SC, I have covered the brothers William and George of
Northampton Co., NC and eliminated them from consideration in my opinion from
later discussion.
It is my opinion that William of Brunswick in the road orders of 1733 was the
same man who acquired land in Northampton Co. NC on 6/22/1749 on the North
side of Jack's Swamp. This was right on the Va. line and surely was very
close to where John and Daniel lived on Fountains Ck. in Virginia. Jack's
Swamp empties into Fountains Ck.. I think old William was dead by 1778 when
his children sold out.
I do not know where you are getting this William Sr. and Jr. of Fairfield, I
only know of one William of Fairfield before 1820. There was no second
William in Fairfield until William of Fairfield's son William Jr., who was
born ca 1794, reached manhood and has his own household in 1820, listed in
age as 16-26 yrs. I cannot agree with the idea that William of Fairfield was
the William Jr. of Northampton because William Jr. of Northampton was there
until 1778 whereas William of Fairfield was buying land in Fairfield in 1772
from Thos. Parrott. You have William Jr. of Fairfield as born in 1759. Where
did this date come from? William of Fairfield's daughter Frances Harrison who
applied for a pension on his service said he was born in 1755. However the
1800 census has him over 45 yrs., born before 1755. I suspect he was born
1750/51 since he bought land in 1772 ( had to be 21 yrs.) and was 70-80 years
old in 1830 census (b. 1750-60). Who his father was remains in doubt but
since he named a son Stephen Francis I believe his father was either named
Stephen or Francis. I favor Francis with his grandfather being Stephen for
reasons that will be given below. I think he had a brother named Stephen
Francis for whom he surveyed land in Fairfield in 1795. You have William of
Fairfield as marrying in 1786 yet he had 2 sons and 2 daughters in 1790
census, rather fast on the trigger I would say. Also his oldest son is 16-26
yrs. in 1800 census, thus born 1774-84. From the 1830 census we can conclude
that the oldest son, Phillip Wade Cato was born 1780-84. William had 9
children born before 1800, indicating a marriage before 1786, since children
of most nursing mothers are born around 2 years apart. I think he married
around 1780/1. He was very busy fighting the War before, having participated
in almost every engagement of the Rev. War in SC.
In 1790 in Edgecombe Co., NC there were two Cato men who I suspect are
brothers. They are
Stephen Cato (Jr., I think) listed as 22400.
William Cato listed as 12400 (a son of Stephen Sr. who was too young to
testify in 1742).
Both seem to be gone in 1800 but there is another younger William still there
listed as 00010-011. I suspect that this younger William is the over 16 yr.
old son of Stephen in the 1790 census. Stephen's other two sons could be
Francis and Cullen Cato who were in Hancock Co., Ga. 1810. Cullen was in
Martin Co., NC in 1792.
Since William of 1790 census was still in NC as late as the 1790 he seems to
be a prime candidate for the William Cato who is said to be the father of a "
William Cato 1789-1868, the forefather of the name in Coffee Co., Ga. who was
born in North Carolina in 1789 and was a the son of William Cato, a Rev. War
soldier, of Halifax Co., NC who moved to Green Co., Ga. where he died.
William the subject, came to Georgia with his parents and left home early and
migrated to Montgomery Co. His wife Polly Ann was born 1790 in SC but her
maiden name has not been learned. William Cato lived in Montgomery Co until
about 1821-22 when he removed to Telfair Co. where he lived until his death.
His children were William, b. 1809; Henry, b. 1810; Candacy, b. 1812; Robert,
b. 1814; Mary, b. 1818; Cassandra, b. 1823; Jincy, b. 1824; Jemina, b. 1828;
John, b. 1829; Olive, b. 1832." The William of the 1790 census of Edgecombe
Co., NC had another son in the 1790 census that has not been identified.
There is one other William who lived in Wilkes Co., Ga. born in the 1770's
that has not been identified. Presently I am guessing he is a son of the
William of Washington Co who was a Rev. War soldier and who I think is
William Jr. of Northampton Co., NC, since we have a son William for Francis,
Stephen Jr. and Stephen Sr. George (Stephen's son) apparently only had a son
John and Syrack had no children.
Henry Brackin
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